PADRE PIO

by Oscar de Liso ‧ RELEASE DATE: Nov. 11, 1960

This is a biography of the Italian Franciscan priest who has borne the stigmata since 1918. Now 73 years of age Padre Pio eats nothing but vegetables, drinks only a glass of lemon juice and spends most of his day in the confessional. During the past 42 years various doctors have tried to heal him but the five wounds -- in his hands, side, and feet -- have never closed. Born in a southern mountain town in 1887 Francesco Forgione early demonstrated exceptional qualities, especially sensitivity to the suffering around him. He became a Franciscan brother in 1903 and at that time and while he was a seminarian he underwent extraordinary experiences which were supposedly confrontations with the devil and he survived fasts of unusual length. He received the stigmata after he became a priest though it first manifested itself as an excruciating burning sensation and only later, after his confinement to the monastery at San Giovanni Rotondo, did it take its present form. There were startling, inexplicable cures attributed to Padre Pio and accounts of his appearance far from the monastery where his superiors had restricted him. Though his life has been primarily one of contemplation it was under his guidance that in 1956 the internationally financed Fiorello La Guardia Clinic was inaugurated at San Giovanni Rotondo. The reaction of some prelates to the phenomenon of Padre Pio was at first skeptical but over the years Church authorities have refrained from making any definitive statement on the authenticity of the case or the miracles attributed to Padre Pio, as is usual in these matters. Nor does the author of the book attempt to do more than simply record the observable facts and the reactions of those who have come in contact with this extraordinary priest, though he does handle the material in a dramatic but prudent style.

Pub Date: Nov. 11, 1960

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: McGraw-Hill

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 1960

Categories: NONFICTION